[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/BJkIXM0.png[/img] [color=PaleTurquoise][h1]Changing feathers[/h1][/color][/center] [h2]Patagonia. Nahuel Huapi Lake. Northern shore.[/h2] [b]Two weeks ago. Midnight.[/b] When the night sky was clear, and the lake below was perfectly still, it was hard not to lose oneself in the spectacle of stars that was reflected on the surface. It reminded him of the pictures he had seen of space growing up. He was going to miss it. "I don't want you to go." Said Iván, the only fellow Celeste he actually liked, the sullen look on his eleven-year-old face confirming his words. He stood before the kneeling Condor, helping the former villain put on his mask despite everything. Condor could not help but give his baby brother a small, sad smile, and pat the back of his hand as he finished with the mask. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Think of it as a vacation."[/color] He said softly, and a leaping blue trout many feet into the water was the only other sound in that place. The night was cool, the air sending shivers down his spine as it touched his face, but there was no wind. Not a single one of his cloak's feathers was moving. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Vacations are short, and people come back from them with nice memories and tons of pictures of landscapes."[/color] "Why do you have to leave?" His brother insisted. Condor sighed, and his smile faltered. For a long moment, he did not speak. When he did, his whispering was filled with uncommon but strong emotions. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Remember when we talked about the last military junta? Of all the horrible things they did?"[/color] Iván nodded. [color=PaleTurquoise]"There's a man out there. A monster in uniform."[/color] He said, tightening his gloves. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Puma can't get to him, and the Americans won't touch him. But if we let him, he's going to do the same despicable things to his own people, and others will follow his example."[/color] There was silence for a time, and then there was chuckling. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Listen to me, all moralistic and stuff."[/color] Said Condor, tying his hair back and putting his headphones on. [color=PaleTurquoise]"If I ever get really boring, please hit me with my guitar."[/color] Iván's sad expression faded at once, and he hugged his older brother with all his strength. "Can I play it? Your guitar?" [color=PaleTurquoise]"Yes."[/color] He answered, grinning at the boy and hugging him back. [color=PaleTurquoise]"And if you haven't broken at least one string by the time I'm back, I will be disappointed."[/color] The two parted, and Condor began to walk away, towards the water. He shrugged and shuddered, trying to clear his senses and concentrate on his powers. Iván's voice interrupted him. "I think... I have powers." He uttered so reluctantly that Condor almost missed it. The older male turned his head slightly. [color=PaleTurquoise]"This wouldn't have something to do with that ugly ceramic vase of mom's that suddenly disappeared, would it?"[/color] "It turned to sand when I touched it." [color=PaleTurquoise]"Oh, granulation."[/color] Condor said, and turned his head a bit further. His grin widened. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Neat."[/color] With a flick of his hand, a strong wind suddenly burst through the black sand beach and into the lake. Condor ran after it for a few feet, jumped on with his winds spread, and with one long flap he was soaring into the night sky. The young former villain let out a small chuckle as he flew higher and higher. The cool air that surrounded him completely, and separated him from the earth and water below, filled his whole being with exhilaration. So many years had passed since his first flight, and yet he still felt liberated every time he did this, like nothing in existence could bind him. He picked up speed and pirouetted, just because he could, and soon he was thousands of feet high above, laughing out loud. He passed by the snowy mountains, high above the lakes and forests and fields, and only the occasional birds kept him company. As he flew beside the indomitable Andes, only the sounds of the wind and [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wM7A6Eht7s]the music from his headphones[/url] filled his ears, and his fears disappeared into the air for a time. In their place reigned enthusiasm, and it drove him to go faster and faster, until the cold winds stung just a bit, and his wings became difficult to move. It became an almost animalistic impulse, to just push himself harder, higher and faster, as if slowing down or gliding down would be the death of him, yet he embraced it wholeheartedly. Thus Condor left Patagonia, his home, and set out to do something profoundly stupid. Far, far away, on the other side of the vast American continent, New York awaited. [hr] [h2]New York City. Midtown Manhattan. CIA Agent's Apartment.[/h2] [b]Present Day. Morning.[/b] Puma, like the lovable idiot he was, had sneaked into Colombia four months ago with the intent of fighting Zepeta's regime head-on. In the same spirit of lovable idiocy, he had contacted Condor to tell him about the Israeli weapons that Zepeta's forces were using against dissidents. And not too long after that, he had began to organize a meta-human resistance group, despite knowing for a fact what Zepeta did to rebellious meta-humans. In short, Puma had been begging to disappear in suspicious circumstances. And disappeared he had, leaving behind just enough evidence of the American government's involvement in Zepeta's atrocities for Condor to make it his life's purpose to rain hellfire upon the tyrant's enablers. Since he could not literally rain hellfire upon anyone, he had decided he would make do with his wind, his guns, and his boleadoras. Condor was not some sort of brilliant strategist, but he understood that Zepeta could not be defeated as long as he had American support. If South America's meta-humans wanted a fair fight, they needed to cut off his supply lines. And that meant doing the one thing most South American heroes were uncomfortable doing: inconveniencing the American government. Flying to the other side of the continent and into the United States had been reckless and he knew it. It left no paper trail, however, which meant that it would be a lot harder for the government to connect the dots between Condor's arrival and an Argentine tourist called Ludovico Celeste entering the United States. Even if he failed, his family would probably be safe. Once in New York, he had searched for people who had information about the Israeli arms, and occasionally gone after masked vigilantes and police officers with a penchant for excessive use of force. In his spare time, he had gone to see [i]Hamilton[/i] and visited the Stonewall Inn. All in all, they had been two very entertaining and productive weeks, and his antics had bore fruit. Namely, they had led him to an apartment near the top of a luxurious skyscraper, and to the CIA agent who lived within it. From the other side of the apartment's large windows, the young man had looked rather intimidating, tall and muscular. And he carried a gun at all times. Attacking him from the sky in broad daylight, bursting through the windows in his Condor costume, seemed like a potentially stupid idea. Fortunately, an alternative had almost miraculously appeared, courtesy of the Stonewall Inn. As it turned out, the agent, called Colin, was a discreet but frequent patron, and had a somewhat offensive fetish for Latino men. He also liked to play Queen at full volume while trying to woo his hook-ups. The Universe was nice like that sometimes. A bit of temporary black hair dye and a pair of cheap glasses were all the disguise he needed to enter the agent's apartment. And with a bit of bad dancing and horribly racist innuendo, he had Colin right where he wanted him: half-naked in the spacious and blandly decorated living room, with the blinds down and loud music in the background. There truly was no situation that Freddie Mercury's heavenly voice could not improve. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI3LAgGBxqU][i]"I'd like for you and I to go romancing. Say the word your wish is my command..."[/i][/url] Right at that moment, Ludo blew him through the room and into an annoyingly empty bookcase. He landed on the floor with a bewildered grunt, followed by a bestial growl as he reached for his gun. Ludo was way ahead of him. He moved swiftly, delivered a sideways kick to Colin's head, and threw in an elbow strike on the nape of his neck for good measure. Colin recovered faster than Ludo would have liked, however, and hit back with inhuman speed and precision. He evaded far too many blows, and delivered one breathtaking punch to his stomach. The young Argentinian staggered and fell to his knees, but before the other could bash his head in with an ugly lamp, he quickly caused another burst of air, which knocked Colin down. The song kept playing as Ludo pounced on the other and got kicked back. He answered with a flurry of bad capoeria he had learned from Puma, all feet and low blows. It gave him enough time to focus on the air around him for just enough time to do something he felt he was going to regret. [i]"Hey boy where did you go I learned my passion In the good old fashioned school of lover boys..."[/i] The swirl of wind within the living room pulled Colin in and swept him off his feet, and kept him in the air for a few seconds while Ludo pondered what to do next. A minute later, Colin landed back on the hard floor with a groan of pain, and Ludo took the opportunity to jump on him and pin him down. He was careful not to break any bones as he twisted the other's limbs into place, because he was not a cruel asshole, but he did punch him in the face twice for that previous punch to the gut. "Why the fuck...? Who...?" Asked Colin in between gasps and groans. The last punch had broken his nose, which Condor felt a bit guilty about. Broken noses sucked, and Colin's in particular had complemented his features. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Okay, I know this looks bad, but I wouldn't be attacking people in their own homes if it wasn't necessary."[/color] Answered Condor without pause, his accent quite noticeable. [color=PaleTurquoise]"I'm here because of Zepeta, and I have it on good authority that you are one of the people who help him get his Israeli toys."[/color] The man's expression changed suddenly. It was full of sincere anger now. "Are you stupid? You actually want to get involved in that shit?" [color=PaleTurquoise]"Yes and yes."[/color] Condor answered. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Now, please, talk."[/color] "No." [color=PaleTurquoise]"Look..."[/color] "No. You'll get yourself killed." Colin interrupted this time, and the anger had a tinge of concern. Weird. It reminded Ludo of all the times he had fought with Puma. [color=PaleTurquoise]"If you don't tell me, I'll go after the Colombian consulate."[/color] He said, and the mischief in his voice was worse than a threat. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Then you'll have a diplomatic incident in your hands... and with Zepeta, no less."[/color] That changed Colin's tune substantially. He spoke without any need for encouragement, and Ludo was happy enough to thank him with a kiss. "What sort of vigilante are you?" Asked Colin as they parted. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Just a hippie in rehab who hates authority."[/color] Joked Ludo, before standing up and walking casually to the kitchen. He returned with a bit of ice wrapped in a towel, and handed it over to Colin as the agent tried to sit upright. [color=PaleTurquoise]"By the way..."[/color] He said as he dusted himself off and picked up his jacket from the couch. [color=PaleTurquoise]"Just to clarify, I'm not here legally and my name is not Paco."[/color] Other meta-humans with his abilities would have flown away after that, but Ludo was a bit tired and wanted to walk the bruises off. So instead he walked out through the front door like a normal human being, all the while happily humming "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy". Making progress in his non-villainous schemes felt good. Strange, but good. By the time he reached his temporary new home, a small apartment that probably had an obscene amount of lead in its walls, he had a grin on his face, a mind filled with ideas, and enthusiasm aplenty. Condor had definitely arrived in the United States of America, and he was bringing winds of change with him.